Establishing a Child Advocacy Center

Starting a CAC in your Community –
Contact the Colorado Children’s Alliance for assistance

The following is a checklist that has been developed by the National Children’s Alliance (NCA) summarizing the tasks that need to be completed in establishing a Children’s Advocacy Center. While the activities are listed in approximate order, some will need to take place concurrently and there will be variations in each community.

Convene a working committee or task force of key individuals

Select leadership

Conduct a needs assessment of the extent of the problem in the community

Develop vision and mission statements

Determine CAC service population

Gather information on various CAC models

Select the CAC approach that best suits the community

Develop Interagency agreement and obtain agency commitment

Determine organizational structure

Determine which services will be offered on-site or through referrals

Select site and design or acquire space for child-appropriate facility

Determine staffing needs and agency roles

Multidisciplinary team protocol development

Research potential sources of support

Fighting Child Abuse

Interested in learning more about the many ways that you can support the National Children's Alliance and our local centers?